Breaking Perfect
by FightTheOrange77
Summary: When Itachi has to attend a family dinner, the arrival of three unexpected guests force him to display the issues of his personal life. This,of course, leads to a family dispute, a marriage proposal, a break up, and a trip to the emergency room.


**Summary: When Itachi has to attend a family Dinner, three unexpected guests put his personal life on display. This, of course, leads to a catastrophic Family fight and a trip to the emergency room.  
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**Disclaimer: None of the Naruto ****c****haracters belong to me.**

**Warning: There is a****n**** M/M paring in this story. It is important to the plot and Itachi's character development; so if you don't like seeing traces of homosexuality (they are very subtle moments, nothing beyond a kiss) I'd advise you to read something else.**

**Pairings: ****Rin/Itachi, ****Sasuke/Naruto**

**A shout out to MrsHellman. This is her beta work. She's a beast!**

**This Fic will be, approximately, five chapters long... enjoy the ride folks, and be free to critique and send me praises..heh.  
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_**xXx  
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_**Problem Number One/Ch1:  
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_The Gay Brother/__Of Gray Matters and Cigarette Smoke_

_Author: FightTheOrange77_

_Beta: MrsHellma_

_**xXx**_

"Sasuke, may I have a word with you?"

Notice how I didn't raise my voice.

Sasuke was watching a movie in the living room and less than ten feet from where I was washing the dishes in the kitchen. A yell would have raised unnecessary alarm.

You see, I had a plan, and it required me to use a calm tone. Had I yelled, Sasuke would have known something was up, and I would have failed to nail him across the face with a wooden spoon.

"What the fuck, Itachi!" my little brother snapped while rubbing the side of his face. "What did you do that for?"

"Someone had to be punished," I responded before I turned back towards the sink.

"Punished for what?" Sasuke was trying not to raise his voice, but he was failing and it annoyed me greatly.

I sighed. "For that," I said pointing to a wad of dark, gray matter under the table.

Sasuke bent down to stare at the specimen. "Do you really think I'm responsible for . . . for— what exactly is that?" A pen was pulled from his pocket then sent to poke a curious hole near the top of the lump.

His nose scrunched up in disgust. "I'm going to be sick," he then stated.

I spun on my heel and pointed the spoon towards his head. "Are you only _thinking_ about vomiting or is your mouth currently filling up with bile? I just cleaned."

"It was a figure of speech, Itachi. Calm down," he scoffed, swatting the utensil away from his face. I stared at the spoon then threw it in the trash. It was tainted and no longer useful.

Sasuke glanced at the trashcan, a confused grimace forming on his face. "Did you just waste another perfectly good spatula?"

The sound that permitted from my lips was unmistakably a bothered grunt, but Sasuke must have interpreted it as an irate growl, because he took a precautions step back.

"The utensil I threw away was a spoon, not a spatula," I corrected. "It touched your skin twice, and since you're a teenaged boy, attempting to rinse it off a second time would have been inane; hence I tossed it."

The look on Sasuke's face made me smirk. There was nothing I enjoyed more than ticking him off.

"Just what the hell are you trying to say?" His arms folded across his chest, a sure sign I had struck a nerve.

I rolled my eyes, returning to the sink. Warm water rushed over my hands and I began to scrub a plate.

"Itachi wha—"

"If you think I'm calling you filthy because of a certain – let's say . . . _primate_ – of yours, then you're absolutely right." A thought popped up in my head and I narrowed my eyes. "Speaking of which, will you call him in here, I'm sure he'll have an explanation for that mysterious blob under the table."

I wasn't in the mood to fight; at least not over the subject of the Uzumaki child. Naruto arguments always turned into completely unnecessary brawls.

"Naruto, get over here." Sasuke had raised his voice. I immediately glared at him.

"What?" he protested and scratched his elbow. His arms were still crossed which meant he was still angry.

"There's no need to yell."

"Don't tell me what to do."

Naruto entered the kitchen, stretching his arms towards the ceiling. It was followed by a small yawn and his hand rubbing his exposed naval. The sight made me want to back hand him into next week. Sasuke thought it was endearing because he immediately grabbed the idiot by one of his belt loops and pulled him to his side.

"You're an ass for leaving me on the floor," the blond rasped, and wrapped his arm around my brother's waist. "That was the worst nap in the world."

Ha, that's right. I forgot to mention that my brother was ashamedly a homosexual.

Ashamedly, because if you were to ask him what his sexual orientation was he'd punch you in the eye. In his defence, he didn't like boys or girls. He just liked Naruto.

My argument is that if a man likes another man then he is homosexual. Sasuke is a man and he likes Naruto, who is also a man. Therefore, Sasuke is homosexual. Use your deducting skills. Can you argue that my premises are invalid?

I didn't think so.

"My brother needs to have a word with you, Dobe." Sasuke grinned warmly.

I felt like I wanted to gag. Somehow, I was able to develop a tolerance to their kissing and groping; however, I was not – nor would I ever be – immune to their nicknames. They always made me cringe.

"Would you stop with the lovedy-dovey crap," I said, soap flinging off my fingers. "Uzumaki, just tell me what you know and then leave my presence; otherwise I'm going to have to kick you out."

A confused expression appeared on Uzumaki's face. "Wh-what? Why? What do you even want to know?" he asked.

Sasuke's arms were no longer crossed against his chest, but his hands had balled into fists. He wasn't angry anymore; he was pissed. "Stop with that shit, Itachi. I pay half the rent; therefore _I_ decide when it's time for _my_ guest to leave, not you," he barked.

"Not here, not now," I replied sternly.

"I can literally _feel _the love," Uzumaki joked, scratching the back of his neck sheepishly. "But seriously, what's going on."

"Don't talk," Sasuke and I both gritted simultaneously.

The blond's mouth became a straight line.

"Have him identify the gray matter," I demanded.

"No," Sasuke replied defiantly.

I sighed, pinching the skin between my brows. When I lifted my head I noticed that both Sasuke and Uzumaki had tensed up. I must have looked furious, because the nervous look on Uzumaki's face was just ridiculous.

Sasuke was ready to throw a temper tantrum. His normally white skin was turning red.

"I really don't want to hand you your arse while there's an audience present. We can still make this easy, Little Brother," I warned.

"I'm not scared of you, Itachi," Sasuke sneered.

"Okay," the only blond in the room decided to step in. "You know what, maybe I should go. It might lighten the tension. I'm not too sure what all the ruckus is about, but I'm certain I can't handle two raging Uchihas. One is already bad enough, but two? Ha, hell to the no." He made a move towards the exit.

"You're not leaving until you identify that shit on the floor." Soap fell onto the end of my shoe, and I reluctantly left it alone. I wasn't about to break the tough air I was putting on.

"Correction, Naruto isn't leaving until I properly screw his brains out." A childish – and evil – grin snaked over Sasuke's lips, and it took every ounce of my self-control to keep my foot from puncturing a hole the size of a football in his face.

"Sasuke," Uzumaki reprimanded, giving him a disapproving look. "What's the problem, Itachi?" he asked, turning towards me. "What do you want me to look at?"

Sasuke had yet another retort on the end of his tongue, but Uzumaki interrupted him. "What do you want me to look at?" he repeated, looking at me earnestly.

I pointed, and the blond's gaze followed the direction of my finger. He took a step forward, lowering himself into a crouching position. His hand held on to the edge of the table as he leaned forward to speculate the gray lump.

To my horror, he touched it with his finger then sniffed the end of his fingernail. "It smells like fish."

"How did it get there, and why does it look like that?" I asked – and genuinely wanted to know.

"I can be a messy eater?" A cheeky grin suddenly appeared on his lips.

"'Can be'?" Sasuke scoffed. "You _are_ a messy eater, Naruto," he said kicking the back of Uzumaki's heel.

"That still doesn't explain why it looks the way it does." My arm came to rest on the counter.

"It's regurgitated," Uzumaki stated simply then shrugged as he stood to his feet.

The kitchen grew very still.

I was struck speechless. Only moments ago had I warned my brother not to vomit on the floor. The irony sickened me, and it apparently made Sasuke feel embarrassed. He couldn't look me in the eye.

Naruto poked himself in the chest. "It wasn't me!" he said said defensively.

I wasn't convinced.

He sighed or was it more of a scoff? "I was hoping something like this wouldn't happen- just, hang on a second." The blonde ran out of the room then returned, cupping a small ball of fur in his hands. "Me and Sasuke found him today on the street." He used his finger to rub behind the squirrel's ear. "I guess he's not big enough to eat people food, but he's cute right?" The animal made a small whimpering noise.

A squirrel?

"You brought a possibly rabid rodent into my house, and you didn't bother to tell me?" My hand, which was griping the sink, was beginning to turn white at the knuckles.

"I don't have to tell you everything," Sasuke replied softly, almost sounding guilty. His eyes traveled to various objects in the kitchen. He was avoiding my face, a sure sign that he knew he was in the wrong.

"When have you ever cared for wild animals, Sasuke?"

"It's not wild." Naruto muttered.

What kind of person brings a squirrel inside a house, lets it inconspicuously puke at a dinner table, and then leaves the mess on the floor for someone else to clean it up? What the hell did my brother see in this moron? I didn't know whether to be furious or laugh hysterically. The whole situation had somehow become an awkward joke.

I cleared my throat uncomfortably. "The squirrel can't stay here. I want it gone immediately. Uzumaki, you'll be the one to clean up its mess." I grabbed the sponge off the sink then threw it at the blond who caught it with one hand.

"You can't make him clean it up," Sasuke started to fuss. "He's a god damn guest."

I was doing my best to remain calm, but I could feel my blood pressure rising. I knew – without a shadow of a doubt – that Sasuke, single-handedly, wanted to force feed Uzumaki the vermin's vomit, yet here he was continuing to be pissed at me. And for what? He couldn't possibly be trying to defend Uzumaki's honor. You can't defend an idiot's honor!

"Guest? No, he's an intruder, and a disrespectful one at that. I allowed him to eat dinner with us; I even washed his plate, and he repaid me by letting this- beast- vomit on the floor with no intention of cleaning it up. Quit trying to justify his actions or else I'll ban him from ever coming over here again."

"Fuck you," Sasuke spat then proceeded to grab Uzumaki by the wrist and lead him out the kitchen.

"Just hang on a second." Uzumaki hesitated, retracting his arm. He handed my brother the animal. The dirty look that formed on Sasuke's face was dangerous, but the blond overlooked it. I was actually quite impressed.

"You're right," he said, lowering his head. "I'll clean it. I shouldn't have brought the squirrel here. I've been disrespectful, and I sincerely apologize."

"Naruto," Sasuke threatened. My brother wanted a fight, and I was very close to giving him one.

The blond rolled his shoulders and sighed frustratingly. "It's just vomit, all right?"

"Bu—"

"Sasuke." Uzumaki's tone was dark. I cocked an eyebrow because my brother quickly backed off.

He threw one hand in the air. "Fine, whatever."

"Go take the squirrel to my house."

Sasuke rolled his eyes before he turned to exit the kitchen. "Don't act like you wear the pants . . ." he grumbled, "And who the hell lets a squirrel puke on the floor and doesn't say anything about it?"

Did I really just whiteness my brother submit to a squirrel-saving moron? Sasuke has always been this untamed, brooding brat. He doesn't listen to commands, and yet he willingly obeyed Uzumaki.

Uzumaki; the guy who just admitted to letting a squirrel puke on the floor and leaving it there for someone else to deal with.

My eyes came to rest on the idiot. He was poking his finger into the blob again, resembling a dirty toddler.

"Have you really allowed yourself to become a bitch to this, Little Brother?" I whispered to no one.

I guess, in a very cocked up way, Uzumaki was expressing a more vulgar side of masculinity by probing the regurgitation with his bare hand.

Sasuke had daintily used a pen.

Analyzing my brother's relationship with his boyfriend was proving itself to be a heinous task, and frankly I didn't care anymore; so I just concluded that Sasuke was the DF of the relationship, (Designated Female) and the reason he liked Uzumaki was to blatantly insult the Uchiha name.

There was nothing more to it.

**xXx**

I should have known Sasuke was being serious when he said that Uzumaki wasn't leaving until after he screwed his brains out. The nicknames may make me cringe, but the disturbing monkey-calls Uzumaki and Sasuke create during their manly finger poking make me contemplate taking a gun to my head.

Unfortunately, I didn't have a pistol; so I resorted to waiting outside on the porch until the noises stopped. It was there I started thinking about my life and how messed up it had become. Ten years ago I would have never thought my sweet, innocent, baby brother would be doing the nasty with a guy, and that I'd be willingly keeping his lifestyle hidden form my parents and the world.

I vividly remember the night Sasuke showed up at my doorstep with a river of tears streaming down his face and a sob story that could have easily scored an episode on the late, Oprah Winfrey show.

"_I'm so screwed__. Kill me."_

_It had to be some kind of prank. Why the hell would my brother, who I hadn't seen in months, suddenly appear at my door step and __tell me that out of everything?_

_My initial reaction would have been to slam the door in his face, but for some reason I couldn't. Instead, I told him to step inside, and he did, shaking like he'd seen a ghost._

_"__S__it down__,__" I said pointing to the couch._

_He sat down, folding his hands in his lap. His eyes were glued to the floor._

_"Tea?" I offered, and his shoulders bounced with a small shrug. I accepted the subtle response as a no and took a seat on the edge of the coffee table. "__E__laborate__.__" I decided to be __frank._

_Frankness__ always worked when a heavy topic had to be discussed with Sasuke. If need be, I'd comfort him with a light tap to his shoulder or two fingers pressed against his forehead. It would be enough. It was always enough._

_My brother's eyes locked with mine, and a very weird tension began to fill the room. His thumbs started twirling and I began to pick the skin from my cuticles._

_I knew then something terrible must have happened. Sasuke __and I__ didn't have the greatest relationship, but we were never awkward around each other. Somehow __–__ even though our family was royally screwed __–__ we had managed to find a comfortable ground between us. Some people might even say we were pleasantly domestic around each other._

_Whatever Sasuke needed to talk about was, in the worst case life altering, and would ultimately piss my __father__ off._

_That was the only explanation I could think of for him fidgeting with his hands so nervously._

_He opened his mouth and finally told me what it was all about._

_"I had sex."_

_The room was so quiet I could hear the clock ticking on the wall. What the fuck was he expecting me to say?_

_The last time I checked__,__ having sex wasn't something to freak out about._

_"And?" I asked._

_I was half expecting him to say that he got a girl pregnant, in which I would have told him to man up and face the consequences, poked him in the head affectionately, and then sen__t__ him on his way so I could call __father__ and congratulate him on another possible heir to the company._

_A child was a big deal, but it wasn't a disastrous situation._

_Sasuke narrowed his eyes. __"With a guy," he added._

_And words can't even begin to describe the fear that I felt for my brother's life. He was right in asking me to kill him, because if I didn't my father most definitely would__;__ only he'd do it after he stripped Sasuke of our family name._

_S__urprisingly __I __wasn't angry. Shocked, yes, but not angry._

_A sigh escaped my lips and I stood to go retrieve the bottle of whiskey from my cabinet, along with two glasses. Such a confession required the presence of hard liquor. I handed him the drink and he cupped the glass with both of his hands as if it were a warm cup of hot chocolate. He sipped it, and I was suddenly starring at a my five year old, kid brother who needed to constantly be told to hold his __glass__ upright or else it would get on his pants._

_A forced cough filled the silence, and I downed my first shot immediately._

_"There's something wrong with me," he said. "What am I going to do, Itachi?"_

_The second shot slid easily down my throat. "There's nothing wrong with you__, Sasuke,__" I started. "You slept with __another male__, big deal, just don't do it again."_

_"B-but what If I want to do it again?" His question was quickly followed with him tossing back the rest of his drink._

_I blinked slowly. __That was when something hit me._

_"Sasuke, do you like guys?" This question was important, because if Sasuke liked guys, then the situation had officially gone from really, really bad to epically catastrophic._

_He grabbed the bottle from my hand and refilled his glass. "No," he answered, and took a sip._

_"Care to help me understand? You slept with a guy and want to sleep with him again, yet you claim to not like men."_

_"I think you understand perfectly fine," he snapped._

_"Don't get smart with me. If __Father__ were to find out what you've done __. . .__"_

_Panic arose on Sasuke's features and his skin began to turn __pale__. "You aren't going to tell him__,__ are you?"_

_"No," I sighed. "Just help me understand your problem__: a__re you attracted to women at all?"_

_"Not really, but I've never been attracted to men either. I just, I don't know what it is about this person. I've always felt something towards him. Only, I was certain the feeling I felt was nothing more than a mix between hatred and childish infatuation." He was silent for a moment. "Somehow things just developed into something different, I guess."_

_I scratched the bottom of my chin contemplatively. "Maybe you're mistaking your sex drive for a relational emotion. You're a teenaged boy, and whether you like men or not, maybe you just wanted to relieve yourself of your sexual tension__,__ so you slept with the first person who offered themselves to you. Unfortunately, it happened to be a __homosexual __male."_

_"But Naruto __i__sn't gay—" Sasuke __clenched his jaws shut __and __my brows decided to play hide-and-seek underneath my hairline__. No longer was the situation catastrophic__. I__t was apocalyptic._

_"You had sex with Uzumaki," I __stated; no it was not a question. __The sentence was unbelievably hard to get out of my mouth. "Your best friend__, Uzumaki__."_

_Sasuke downed his second shot then grabbed the whiskey bottle and poured a good sum of its contents down his throat. "Y__es,__" he said smacking his lips. "__Now you can see my problem__."_

_"I certainly can. Wha__—__" I couldn't say anything else. My mind was too boggled. "Uzumaki,__ of all people?__" __I asked with a frown._

_"I think I might __seriously like him__."_

_If words could end the world then the world had just collapsed into a black hole._

_I stared at Sasuke, for who knew how long, and he continued to drink from the whiskey bottle. It wouldn't be long before he was drunk. I eventually took the container away from him and took a swig myself._

_"Are you __angry with__ me?" he __asked, sounding uncertain._

_I thought about it, and I honestly wasn't. If anything I was more concerned. In the back of my mind I always knew Sasuke and Uzumaki had a special relationship. Regardless of how much they fought, you could tell their friendship was deeper th__a__n most friendships, but where did __romance__ fit into the picture?_

_"No__,"__ I answered, __"__but how did __things lead up to this__?"_

_Sasuke began to relax on the couch, the alcohol was starting to kick in. "He held my hand once back when we were eleven or twelve."_

_Great, so apparently these feelings had been forming in their preteens._

_"It was on that floating trip we went on. You know__;__ the one where that hippie lost her top after she jumped of that rock."_

_"I remember." How could I forget, I somehow ended up sleeping __with the same 'hippie'__. Here's a word of advice: if a hippie offers you water from a canteen, decline it because it's more than likely not going to be water._

_"So that's where you think it began?" __I continued to ask._

_"Yes," he said running his hands through his hair. "After __the event revolving around __that__, __nothing was ever the same."_

_My little brother trailed off, as if getting caught up in his own memories. "__We had a different relationship, physically__," he continued, "a__nd we just seemed to act differently around one another. Whether it was our feet touching under the table or __letting our arms and hands brush__, we __always managed to __make physical contact. As we got older things began to escalate. Feet under the table and arms brushing together weren't enough; so we started fighting __–__ a lot. __Nearly __to the point where people didn't understand why we were around each other so much."_

_Sasuke always seemed to become more talkative under the influence of alcohol. __I mused over that as __I took another gulp from the bottle __and then __nodded my head. Upon hearing this explanation it made total sense why I still felt Sasuke and Uzumaki had a deeper connection __than most people __even though they were busting each other's skulls half the time._

_"Even though I knew there was something weird between me and Naruto, I never thought it would be more th__a__n fighting." Sasuke __continued and then __yawned, his shoes curling into the carpet. "Naruto started to date around, and with each girl he dated the more warped our__ '__whatever' started to become. He couldn't differentiate whether our touching had a deeper meaning anymore, so I panicked.__" He raked a hand through raven locks. "That was the first time I kissed him . . ." he trailed off and once more got caught up in his own memories. "__Naruto may have been the one to force us to hold hands, but I was the one who forced us to kiss. It was an impulsive act, and I got a black eye for it, but I don't regret doing it because Naruto__—__"_

_"__D__idn't abandon you__,__" I completed._

_Sasuke gave a lopsided smirk, and I tried not to laugh. The alcohol was beginning to affect me too. "__Always the smart one, aren't we?" he laughed, and I shook my head._

_"You__'re__ drunk."_

_"Hn," was the only reply I got__._

_"It seems like Uzumaki was trying to move on, having taken your hesitation as a negative response to his initiate move; holding your hand. You don't think you should remain just friend? And forget about these . . . recent events?" I asked and made eye contact with my brother._

_"That's impossible__,__" Sasuke __said and __immediately sat __up in his chair__._

_"And why is that?"_

_"We talked about the kiss a few days after we did it. He asked me why I did it, but I couldn't give him an answer. I mean, I barely understood why I did it. I understand now, but I didn't back then."_

_I narrowed my eyes. So this kiss wasn't one to be categorised under the 'recent events' file? __"When did this kiss happen?"_

_"A few months ago__," the younger Uchiha answered with a shrug. "__He broke up with Hinata because of it, and after two long weeks of no communication, __h__e told me he l__iked__ me, and well, we've been fooling around ever since."_

_I shook my head. Hormones._

"_But__," Sasuke continued, and I felt myself sigh. It was about to get worse, wasn't it? "__we went too far tonight. God __. . ." he gripped his hair in his hands, __"I've had sex with a _guy_. I'm a__n__ Uchiha__;__ Uchihas don't fuck men, but I did, and now I think __I just might like him romantically__, and__— shit! We didn't use a condom! T__his is so bad. What __the hell__ am I going to do? __Father's going to have my head." He gripped his hair tighter. "Just kill me, Itachi . . ."_

_"__You didn't use a condom__?" came my late reply. "Sasuke, don't tell me__—__"_

_At that point Sasuke looked like he was prepared to cry. He leaned forward__, attempting to smash his head against the glass table__, and I immediately regretted giving him the alcohol. I pushed his shoulder towards the couch pillow, whispering him words of comfort._

_"Just sleep little brother," I said, gently pressing my fingers to his forehead._

_Sasuke was going to get into a lot of trouble because of this __'__thing__'__ he had with Uzumaki, but I couldn't fight the urge to protect him. __He was my little brother after all._

_As Sasuke began to doze off to sleep, I grabbed a blanket from the closet and threw it on top of him. __Completely passed out on the couch he looked so much younger. The __thought of my __father__ never accepting him quickly gave me a migraine._

_I stood to my feet, wobbling to the kitchen to obtain some painkillers. __Sasuke was going to need them in the morning.__ I decided right there and then that I was going to help Sasuke. It wouldn't be easy, but I knew that no matter what I had to support him._

_The idea of him fending for himself was seriously depressing._

_I placed the painkillers on the glass table and then went to bed myself._

**xXx**

The front door opened, pulling me from my thoughts.

Uzumaki stepped on to the porch with wild sex hair and a very content grin on his face. I sighed and took a drag from the cigarette I held in between my index and long finger.

The blond immediately noticed the cancer stick and asked for one.

"When did you start smoking?" I asked casually as I gave him my pack and lighter. Sasuke was the smoker while Uzumaki usually complained about it.

"I don't," he declared while cupping the end of a stick. The flame flickered a few times before the familiar glow erupted from the end of the cigarette.

"You're not funny," I responded and pocketed the items the blonde gave back, nodding his thanks all the while.

"Oh." The blond inhaled. "Sorry, what I meant to say is that I only smoke after— well, after I— uh . . . how do I put it?"

"Relieve stress," I answered sarcastically and killed the cig in an ashtray next to me.

Uzumaki began to pinch the end of his shirt nervously. "Y-yah, I guess you could put it like that."

I smirked. "Well then Uzumaki, did you relieve enough stress?" I asked as I stood to my feet.

"Sure," he said staring at the ground.

I rolled my eyes, taking a step towards the door.

"Um . . . I'm sorry," the blond chirped, and stared at me. My hand was resting on the knob. I cocked my eyebrow.

The cigarette in Uzumaki's mouth hung on his lip. He pulled it out and snuffed it, then threw it into the yard. I scoffed. What a waste.

"Itachi, we've known each other for a long time," he said.

"I'm aware of that," I responded, letting go of the door handle.

"I know everything seems a little crazy right now, but there's something I really want you to know."

"All right," I shrugged and let my hand drop from the knob.

Uzumaki looked back down at his toes shyly. All of a sudden, in one abrupt movement, his head shot up. "I just want you to know that whatever Sasuke and I have is real." I arched a brow as I took in tan cheeks becoming pink. "It-it isn't a phase or a momentary experiment. You're not wasting your time by helping us keep this a secret."

Uzumaki blinked a few times, waiting for me to respond. I turned away from him and leaned my back against the wall. If it wasn't for the pathetically sincere look on his face I would have laughed hysterically. But I'm a respectful person. Uzumaki truly meant what he said; in spite of this, I was starting to grow concerned with the naivety both my brother and Uzumaki were displaying.

"I don't hate you Uzumaki," I spoke, and it was the truth. "I don't necessarily like you either," I added, "but I don't hate you."

"Thanks?" the primate smiled uneasily. He had no idea where I was going with this.

"But if I were you I would cherish every waking moment I had with Sasuke because one day it _will_ come to an end."

I could sense a righteous anger stirring on Uzumaki's end and I sighed heavily. "How can you say that?" he asked. "Are you so sure that this won't last?"

I sighed again. "You don't know anything about the Uchihas," I started. "Just because one of us loves you, doesn't mean that we all will love you." I could feel Uzumaki's anger morphing into a subtle hurt. "In the end he'll be forced to pick between you and his name."

I turned my gaze towards the blond. "If you really love Sasuke, then don't make him choose. When the time comes just leave, and don't ever come back."

"I don't think I can do that, Itachi."

"Yes, you can, and you will," I replied grimly.

I half expected Uzumaki to start a huge argument, but he was eerily quiet. Maybe he was finally seeing the bigger picture.

"I'm going inside." I announced. "What are you doing?" I started to open the door.

"I think I'm just gonna head home," he replied softly.

"Night then."

"You really care about him don't you?" he suddenly asked.

I rubbed the back of my head, contemplating whether or not I should answer his question. "Possibly," I finally answered.

A huge toothy grin formed on Uzumaki's face, and a chuckle bubbled out of his mouth.

What? Nothing about my answer was humorous.

Uzumaki's hands filled his pockets and his eyes brightened. "It's just, when I asked Sasuke the same question about you, he said the same thing."

I would never admit it out loud, but hearing that made me feel a weird sort of gladness. I smirked. "Well, it's to be expected."

"Wait, let me guess, it's because you're both Uchihas, right?" Uzumaki scoffed jokingly.

"No," I said, my smirk softening. "It's because he's my little brother."

I could feel Uzumaki's stare burning into my skin. Somehow a bond had formed between us in that moment; however, I turned away instead of acknowledging it.

"Have a good night, Naruto," I said once more and stepped inside the house.

* * *

><p><strong>TBC<strong>

_n_


End file.
